EAST HARTFORD — Representatives from the management company selected to take over operation of the town's troubled golf course say they hope Hartford's decision to close its Keney Park course for a year will boost East Hartford's golf revenues.

Employees of the Billy Casper Golf company, which has taken over management of the course, updated the town council at a meeting Tuesday about planned upgrades, some of which are already in progress.

"This Keney situation is a very good thing," said Ryan Phelps, regional director of operations for Billy Casper Golf. "We're going to get some traffic from there."

While Goodwin Golf Course in Hartford's South End will remain open, city officials announced early this month that the Keney course will close for renovation for the 2014 season.

"So basically the window of opportunity is this year," said council Chairman Rich Kehoe said.

"That's my understanding," Phelps said. "We're getting a windfall this year no matter what, with Keney, for sure. ... Golf courses are very, very local; five, 10-minute drive time is all people are willing to do."

Council members voted Tuesday to formally enter into a five-year, $700,000 agreement with Billy Casper, with an option to cancel after three years. Phelps says they anticipate a $162,000 operating loss for the 2014 season, and town officials have said it will take years of investment for the course to become profitable.

Hartford and East Hartford's courses were all managed by MDM Golf Enterprises until 2013, when the company was found to have neglected and mismanaged the courses, allowing them to fall into disrepair.

The golf course has long been a drain on East Hartford's finances. Run by town employees until 2007, the course lost more than $800,000 in the previous nine years due to rising operating costs and a decrease in play, according to a memo from Mayor Marcia Leclerc.

A golf course committee recommended in 2006 that the town turn the operation over to MDM under a 10-year lease. But after ongoing management issues, including course maintenance problems, council members voted unanimously in May to seek a new company and allow MDM to continue on a month-to-month basis in the meantime.

East Hartford council members voted in October to absolve MDM of $72,361 in debt consisting of unpaid rent, water bills, and taxes in exchange for kitchen appliances in the course's restaurant, worth approximately the same amount.

The council dropped MDM and has hired Billy Casper Golf to restore the course's damaged greens and mismanaged restaurant and infrastructure. Billy Casper Golf took over operation on Nov. 1.

Phelps said the company has hired a superintendent and golf pro, and is developing marketing schemes and planning menus for the course's restaurant, which is scheduled to open in March. The course itself was mowed and winterized before the first snowfall.

Kehoe said that while residents should keep expectations in check for the first couple years of operation under Billy Casper, "the golf course was in such bad shape that frankly anything you do is going to be an improvement."

"It's a nice golf course; it just needs to be rehabilitated," Phelps said. "You'll know in five years if this is ever going to work."